JohnHawker wrote:


I feel compelled to respond to the above forum post and others of its ilk discussing "freedom of speech."

"Freedom of Speech" ("FOS") is a frequently mis-construed concept by private individuals, usually inadvertently. FOS is not a guarantee that a person can speak their mind on any subject in any forum. There are definite limits on a person's ability to speak.

For example, it is generally accepted, at least here in the United States, that a person can't yell "FIRE" in a crowded movie theater or say, even jokingly, that they have a bomb when they are on an airplane. These examples are certainly instances where the GOVERNMENT has infringed upon the rights of private individuals to say whatever they want to where ever they want to. Another example are the criminal penalties, in some jurisdictions, for the use of "fighting words." (Furthermore, it could be argued that the use of movie ratings, i.e., G, PG, PG-13, R, and X are an impermissible restraint on FOS as, at least in the case of R and X rated movies, not everyone can get into those movies, thereby depriving the speaker (the director of the movie) from speaking to all audiences and is therefore an infringement on their FOS). The examples are endless where the FOS has been curtailed by the governmental unit.

The bottom-line is that a person's FOS is not unlimited, there are limits imposed by the various governments of this planet on a private individual's right to FOS in a public forum, with some governmental limits on FOS greater than others (see the old Soviet Union).

Furthermore, the right of FOS only extends to preventing the "government" from imposing artificial limits on a private individual's FOS in public forums, not private forums, such as the YouPlay.it Forum.

As far as I know, the YouPlay.it forum is not owned by, sponsored by, or expressly condoned by the Italian government, it is owned and operated on a private level by Italian citizens and has no connection to the Italian government.

Accordingly, the YouPlay.it forum is a private forum, not a public forum subject to the usual Italian FOS guarantees.

Since the YouPlay.it forum is a private forum, the owners/operators of the YouPlay.it forum can place any limits they feel like on FOS in their private forum. An analogy would be that a person has a zero right to come into my house and say whatever the h*** they want to. If a person comes into my house and begins to state stuff that offends me on any level, I certainly have the right to request that that person cease saying things that offend me or they can get the h*** out of my house and there is nothing that the offending speaker can do or say about that fact.

I think this is the point that certain posts on this subject have been trying to make.

Since this is a private forum, the FOS is not unlimited and is subject to the dictates and opinions of the Webmasters, the owners/operators of this site. As long as the discussions are civil in nature and tone, I understand that the Webmasters will let the Forum users state their opinions on any subject. However, they have, and will in the future, delete posts that they find otherwise in thier own subjective opinion.

Just my "two cents" opinion.

Troll